The vendor is required to provide from qualified firms with expertise performing comprehensive cost allocation and cost of services and user fee studies for state municipalities.
- User fee cost recovery policy
• Conduct research regarding industry benchmarks to determine the typical percentage cost recovery allocation for specific categories of fees to provide a baseline comparative analysis.
• Prepare an analysis that compares existing and potential new fees in key benchmark areas with those charged by other agencies in county, with a focus on similar contract-cities such as mission Viejo, laguna hills, laguna Niguel, and rancho Santa margarita.
• Develop findings in a manner that ensure understanding, confidence, and credibility by operating staff, interested community members, and policymakers with the goal of ensuring clear policy direction regarding the desired cost recovery for all major fee categories.
• Prepare a report that summarizes the key findings in the comparative benchmark analysis and present these findings to the city council.
• Policy direction provided by the city council at this stage in the process will inform the recommendations made after the conclusion of the user fee study.
• Based on feedback from the city council, develop a user fee cost recovery policy document.
- Overhead cost allocation plan
• Work and meet with city staff to refine the project scope, purpose, uses and goals of the city’s cost allocation plan to ensure that the study will be both accurate and appropriate to the city’s needs.
• Draft a project schedule that includes major milestones and answers questions pertaining to the successful development of the study.
• Meet with staff and conduct interviews to gain an understanding of the city’s processes and operations.
• Identify the total cost of providing each city service at the appropriate activity level and in a manner that is consistent with all applicable laws, statutes, rules and regulations governing the collection of fees, rates, and charges by public entities.
• Determine the appropriate general and administrative overhead allocations to city activities and applicable overhead rates for use in calculating the city’s billable hourly rates.
• The requirements of the model should allow for:
1. Additions, revisions, or removal of direct and overhead costs so that the overhead cost allocation plan can be easily adapted to a range of activities, both simple and complex.
2. The ability of the city to periodically update the model and overhead cost allocation plan from year to year as the organization changes.
3. The addition of hypothetical service area information for future service enhancements and the ability to calculate the estimated costs of providing the service under consideration.
• Report on other matters that arise during the course of the evaluation.
• Present the draft cost allocation plan to the city’s management team and make necessary adjustments as requested to facilitate understanding of the cost allocation plan and its implications for the city and make necessary adjustments.
• The consultant shall document al comments and concerns for inclusion in the final version of the cost allocation plan.
• If required, prepare memoranda, reports, and deliver presentations to the city council to facilitate understanding of the plan and its implications to the city.
• Provide the city with an electronic copy of the final comprehensive review, including related schedules and cost documentation in a format that can be edited and updated by city staff to accommodate changes in the organization or changes in cost.
• Prepare a final report and file of the overhead cost recovery plan that can be made available to city staff.
• Models, tables and graphs should be provided in microsoft excel as deemed appropriate.
• Any cost allocation model revisions developed shall also be made available to the city in microsoft word and pdf formats, providing the ability to add, delete and update information as needed.
• Provide a computer-based model in microsoft excel for adjusting fees and charges for the city’s current and future needs and provide the city with an electronic copy of the final comprehensive study, including related schedules and cost documentation in a format that can be edited and updated by city staff to accommodate changes in the organization or changes in costs.
• Provide training to city staff on updating the cost allocation plan computer-based model.
• Consult with city staff should the need arise to defend the cost allocation plan as a result of audits or other challenges.
• The plan annually and maintain accurate records of all correspondence, work papers, and other relative evidence during the contract period of five years.
- Federal office of management and budget (“OMB”) cost allocation plan
• Work and meet with city staff to refine the project scope, purpose, uses and goals of the city’s cost allocation plan to ensure that the study will be both accurate and appropriate to the city’s needs.
• Draft a project schedule that includes major milestones and answers questions pertaining to the successful development of the study.
• Meet with staff and conduct interviews to gain an understanding of the city’s processes and operations.
• Identify the total cost of providing each city service at the appropriate activity level and in a manner that is consistent with all applicable laws, statutes, rules and regulations governing the collection of fees, rates, and charges by public entities.
• Determine the appropriate general and administrative overhead allocations to city activities and applicable overhead rates for use in calculating the city’s billable hourly rates. the requirements of the model should allow for:
1. Additions, revisions, or removal of direct and overhead costs so that the overhead cost allocation plan can be easily adapted to a range of activities, both simple and complex.
2. The ability of the city to periodically update the model and overhead cost allocation plan from year to year as the organization changes.
3. The addition of hypothetical service area information for future service enhancements and the ability to calculate the estimated costs of providing the service under consideration.
• Report on other matters that arise during the course of the evaluation.
• Present the draft OMB cost allocation plan to the city’s management team and make necessary adjustments as requested to facilitate understanding of the cost allocation plan and its implications for the city and make necessary adjustments.
• The consultant shall document all comments and concerns for inclusion in the final version of the cost allocation plan.
• If required, prepare memoranda, reports, and deliver presentations to the city council to facilitate understanding of the plan and its implications to the city.
• Provide the city with an electronic copy of the final comprehensive review, including related schedules and cost documentation in a format that can be edited and updated by city staff to accommodate changes in the organization or changes in cost.
• Prepare a final report of the overhead cost recovery plan that can be made available to city staff.
• Models, tables and graphs should be provided in microsoft excel as deemed appropriate.
• Any revisions developed shall also be made available to the city in microsoft word and pdf formats, providing the ability to add, delete and update information as needed.
• Provide a computer-based model in microsoft excel for adjusting fees and charges for the city’s current and future needs and provide the city with an electronic copy of the final comprehensive study, including related schedules and cost documentation in a format that can be edited and updated by city staff to accommodate changes in the organization or changes in costs.
• Provide training to city staff on updating the cost allocation plan computer-based model.
• Consult with city staff should the need arise to defend the cost allocation plan as a result of audits or other challenges.
• Update the plan annually and maintain accurate records of all correspondence, work papers, and other relative evidence during the contract period of five years.
- User fee study
• Work and meet with city staff to refine the project scope, purpose, uses and goals of the city’s user fee study to ensure that the study will be both accurate and appropriate to the city’s needs.
• Draft a project schedule that includes major milestones and answer any questions pertaining to the successful development of the study.
• Meet with staff and conduct interviews to gain an understanding of the city’s processes and operations.
• Conduct a comprehensive review of the city’s existing fees, rates, and charges.
• Conduct a comprehensive review of the city’s cost to provide services at the appropriate activity level and in a manner consistent with all applicable laws, statutes, rules, and regulations governing the collection of fees, rates, and charges by public entities including, but not limited to, proposition 218 and proposition 26.
• Compare service costs with existing recovery levels.
• This should include any service areas where the city is currently charging for services as well as areas where perhaps the city should charge, in light of the city’s practices, or the practices of similar or neighboring cities.
• Identify any factors such as statutory limitations, market conditions, or other policy and service considerations which prevent the implementation of a fee structure based on recovery of full costs.
• Recommend potential new fees and charges for services that the city currently provides but does not have any fees and/or charges established.
• Recommendations should be based on practices by surrounding cities that may charge for similar services, industry best practices, or the consultant’s professional opinion.
• Recommend appropriate fees and charges based on the firm’s analysis together with the appropriate subsidy percentage for those fees where full cost recovery may be unrealistic
• Prepare a report that identifies each fee service, its full cost, recommended and current cost recovery levels.
• The report should also identify the direct cost, the indirect cost, and the overhead cost for each service.
• Prepare a report that identifies the present fees, recommended fees, percentage change, cost recovery percentage, revenue impact and fee comparison with other county cities.
• A survey comparison of rates and fees with similar cities is for information only.
• Report on other matters that come to the consultant’s attention in the course of the evaluation that, in the consultant’s professional opinion, the city should consider.
• Prepare a draft comprehensive fee study which will be reviewed and discussed with the city’s management team.
• Comments and concerns should be collecting during the draft phase for inclusion in the final version of the fee study.
• Any modifications shall be discussed and incorporated into the final comprehensive fee study as requested.
• Present the draft comprehensive fee study to the city’s management team and make necessary adjustments as requested to facilitate understanding of the cost allocation plan and its implications for the city and make necessary adjustments.
• The consultant shall document all comments and concerns for inclusion in the final version of the cost allocation plan.
• Develop a master fee schedule for all city departments
• Provide a computer-based model in microsoft excel or a similar program for adjusting these fees and charges for the city’s current and future needs and provide the city with an electronic copy of the final comprehensive study, including related schedules and cost documentation in a format that can be edited and updated by city staff to accommodate changes in the organization or changes in costs.
• The requirements of the model should allow for:
1. Additions, revisions, or removal of direct and overhead costs so that the overhead cost allocation plan can be easily adapted to a range of activities, both simple and complex.
2. The ability of the city to continuously update the model and overhead cost allocation plan from year to year as the organization changes.
3. The addition of hypothetical service area information for future service enhancements, and the ability to calculate the estimated costs of providing the service under consideration
• Prepare and deliver presentations to the city council to facilitate their understanding of the plan and its implications for the city and make necessary adjustments as requested.
• Prepare a final fee study report of the user fee study that can be made available to city staff. models, tables and graphs should be provided in microsoft excel or a similar program.
• Any master fee schedule revisions developed shall also be made available to the city in microsoft word and pdf format, providing the ability to add or delete and update information as needed.
• Consult with city staff should it become necessary to defend the city’s user fees as a result of any legal or other challenge.
• At the direction of the city, the consultant may be requested to prepare updates to the master fee schedule or the cost-of-service analysis.
- Contract Period/Term: 5 years
- Questions/Inquires Deadline: March 17, 2025